Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Lynch's Australian Dissents

Andrew Lynch, University of New South Wales has published Great Australian Dissentswith Cambridge University Press. From the publisher:

When judges disagree, those in the minority write a dissenting opinion. This book considers the great dissents in Australian law. Their worth may derive from numerous factors, including their rhetorical force as a piece of legal reasoning or emotive power as a judicial lament for the 'error' into which the majority has fallen; the general importance of the issue at stake; as a challenge to the orthodoxy; and, sometimes, the subsequent recognition of a dissenting opinion's correctness and its ultimate vindication. On some occasions, all these features may be strongly present, on others only some. Through a diverse selection of memorable dissenting opinions, this book illuminates the topic of judicial disagreement more generally - not only through examples of instances when minority opinions have been distinctly valuable, but by drawing out a richer understanding of the attributes and circumstances which lead some dissents to become iconic, while so many lie forgotten.

Table of Contents after the jump:

1. Introduction: what makes a dissent 'great'? Andrew Lynch2. Justice Barton and the demise of the Inter-State Commission in the 'Wheat Case' (1915) Oscar Roos3. Unrequited but still great: the dissent of Justices Dixon and Evatt in R v. Federal Court of BankruptcyEx parte Lowenstein (1938) Andrew Lynch4. Justice Evatt and the lost child in Chester v. Waverley Corporation (1939) Barbara McDonald5. Uther's Case (1947): Justice Dixon and the troubled legacy of the Commonwealth Immunity Doctrine Stephen McDonald and Anne Carter6. 'Lone, vehement and incredulous': Chief Justice Latham in the Communist Party case (1951) George Williams7. Public Prosecutor v. Oie Hee Koi (1968): not so humbly advising? Sir Garfield Barwick and the introduction of dissenting reasons to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Oliver Jones8. The trouble with duress: the dissent of Chief Justice Bray in R v. Brown and Morley (1968) Joe McIntyre9. The 'intelligence of a future day': the vindication of Justice Stephen's dissent in Henry v. Boehm (1973) Michael Coper10. Justice Mason in the Australian Assistance Plan case (1975): nationhood, Federalism and Commonwealth executive power Peta Stephenson11. Justice Murphy's dissent in Australian Conservation v. Commonwealth (1980): the birth of public interest standing in Australia? Matthew Groves12. The essence of a fiduciary relationship: Justice Mason's dissent in Hospital Products Ltd v. United States Surgical Corporation (1984) Simone Degeling and Greg Weeks13. The Chamberlain dissents (1984) Jeremy Gans14. Treachery or heroism? The judgment of Justices Deane and Toohey in Leeth v. Commonwealth (1992) Amelia Simpson15. Justice Dawson's steadfast defence of the 'very essence of political discussion' in Langer v. Commonwealth (1996) Adrienne Stone and Kristen Walker, QC16. Certainty, co-existence and the legacy of Mabo: Justice North in the Miriuwung Gajerrong native title case (2000) Sean Brennan17. When liberty divides: judicial cleavages and their consequences in Al-Kateb v. Godwin (2004) A. J. Brown18. He who would not be muzzled: Justice Heydon's last dissent in Monis v. The Queen (2013) Gabrielle Appleby and Heather Roberts.Further information is available here.